The Chronicles of Young Warriors
by Kaoko Arai
Summary: The young ninjas received a wholly new grand mission with Yamato as squad leader! An unknown disease strikes the distressed Hinata. How will her overprotective cousin reacts when he finds out? While Tenten and her twin brother Shin just makes the mood all awhile lively. The story precedes with lively adventure and exciting journey, a moving drama, some humor and a hint of romance!
1. The Start of a Grand Mission!

**The Chronicles of Young Warriors**

**Chapter 1  
– The Start of a Grand Mission! –**

It was the beginning of winter when a certain incident took place in the Hidden Leaf Village.

The news reached the fifth Hokage when she was – as usual – doing her paperwork.

When she heard Izumo's report, she quickly turned to Shizune who was beside her, "Shizune, you know what to do. Take an Inuzuka... Hana Inuzuka with you and hurry after them now! I'll send reinforcement as soon as I can!"

"H-hai! Tsunade-sama!"

* * *

The training field was quite and deserted. There stood Hinata who was at the moment seemingly building up some amount of sweat as she combated her imaginary opponent. She landed a clean strike to the chest followed by a kick thrusting through the waist.

She panted heavily before letting out heavy coughs. Pain could be felt throbbing inside her chest. Her heart beat rapidly and intensely. Her body continually let out large series of oxygen as she whooped. "N-not... t-this again..." Hinata clutched her chest in agony.

She stood there leaning on the log trying to regain her strength. Seconds ticked by as her body eventually calmed down and the pain slowly faded away.

Hinata rested on onto the log as she looked at the heavy clouds which were covering the vast sky. She had a distressed and lonely expression on her face as she continued to gaze at it. Her mind then begins to recall the memories of the past – the sad and sorrowful memories. She shook her head, trying to get it out of her head before she decided to resume her training to forget all about it.

Hinata activated her byakugan and took a deep breath before doing the prominent Hyuga style fighting stance and was about to do her gentle fist continual strikes when she felt the presence of two people appearing from behind her.

"I thought we'd find you here."

She turned her head to identify her cousin Neji along with her teammate Shino.

"Neji-niisan... Shino-kun..." she mentioned their names, surprised to see them as she wondered what business did they come to see her.

"We're sorry to interrupt your morning training, Hinata-sama," Neji said, looking serious, "We have a mission from the fifth."

She deactivated her byakugan. "A mission?" She blinked.

"An A-rank mission," he informed her, "Not really sure of the details, but we're here to recruit you."

"I understand," she nodded.

The three marched off after Hinata readied herself.

* * *

Tenten was also included in the same mission Neji mentioned. She went back to her residence to send for her twin brother, Shin - and Tenten, knowing her brother really well wasn't really all that pleased about having him in the same team.

As she went upstairs she strode off to her brother's bedroom before storming the door open; which caused it to hammer against the wall. It made a large roaring crash enough to wake a sleeping dragon.

There laid a lazy Shin still sleeping in a monkey like position with a drool coming out from his mouth. The massive noise Tenten formed didn't really bother him at all.

"Shin!" She yelled.

He didn't budge.

"SHIN!"

Seriously, if it wasn't the Hokage's order, she wouldn't even be bothered to go and wake him up! Having him in the house was more than enough, and now he was about to be sent on the same mission with her.

She went to him and kept on nudging him as hard as she can, "Wake up, Shin. We have an important mission!"

He let out a grunt, still keeping his eyes closed.

She slapped him on across his cheeks continuously – but with no avail. "Shin, WAKE - UP...!"

Tenten let out a heavy sigh - decided she will do it in a brutal way when their mother popped her head into the room.

"What's the all the ruckus about?" she demanded.

Tenten turned to her mother tearfully (in comedic fashion), "Mom..."

"Trying to wake your brother up?" she said to her daughter smiling, "Normal methods won't work," she told her.

Tenten wondered what her mother would do as the woman went to his bed and reached her lips near the tip of his ear, she begun blowing gently in an erotic fashion. Shin's body quivered. She then adjusted her voice to that of a sexy woman before whispering to his ear, "Awww, Shin-sama~ I beg of you~ please? Ne, can, you, wake up for me? I most, certainly, cannot give you an astoundingly ho~t k-i-s-s with your mouth buried in droo~ls-"

Tenten stared in terror as she watched her own mother doing such outrageous act in front of her.

Shin slowly opened his eyes, sat himself straight, and slowly turned his head to the lady beside him. He looked at her dreamily. He reached closer to her face as he then tried to give her a kiss. But before he could do so he received – before realizing it – a surprising slap across the cheek. The startled Shin truly woke up this time. He realized that it wasn't any other woman but his own mother.

"Awake now?" she asked him with a smile across her face.

Shin grimaced. "Why did you wake me up for?" He grumbled, annoyed to be woken up in such manner as he was enjoying his sleep.

Tenten who couldn't wait any longer walked up to him and uncovered him from his Pyjamas. "Wh-what the hell are you doing?!" He complained in rage and confusion. She then forcefully made him wear his gear attire before dragging him outside the house.

* * *

The Hokage's office door suddenly slammed open as Tenten and Shin threw themselves into the room. Both had a bruise across their face – they were brawling earlier when they made their way to Hokage's headquarter.

They soon noticed they were late as they saw Tsunade's irritated expression.

"We're very sorry, Tsunade-sama! My brother and I-"

"That's enough," he told them harshly before gesturing them to get in line with other selected ninjas of the mission in hand.

The young shinobis; Hinata Hyuga, Neji Hyuga, Shino Aburame, Tenten, Shin with Yamato in front of them stood there before the great fifth Hokage.

"I summoned you here on a very important A-Rank mission – might as well turn into an S-Rank if things get out of hand," Tsunade said with a stern voice, "We don't have much time, so I'll make it as short as possible."

All listened intently – trying to catch every word their Hokage was about to say.

"Five prisoners managed to escape from the west prison before dawn – they knocked out ten guards in total. Shizune and Nana Inuzuka are already at their pursuit-"

"Won't they be enough to take them down? Shizune-san is really strong," said Tenten.

"These five are no ordinary criminals," stated Tsunade, "Two of them are Zuko and Loke. They worked under Orochimaru for some time when he was still living in the village – doing his secret illegal activities. These two were somehow responsible in abducting the Konoha citizens for their lord's experiments. One of them like you, Hinata, Neji, is a member of the Hyuga clan, Azusa Hyuga."

When Tsunade mentioned this name, Hinata and Neji were traumatized for a while.

Tsunade continued.

"And the other two are serial killers – famous for their brutal killing and slaughter during Shinobi World War III. All of them – except for Azusa – were to be executed on this day but managed to escape before their execution took place."

"So you want us to support Shizune-san's team and apprehend them," deduced Yamato.

"That's right," answered Tsunade, "But that isn't all."

"The guards told me that they were acting suspiciously these last few weeks. It could be just our hunch, but I want to be careful as much as possible. It could be more than just an ordinary escape. They may be plotting something dangerous that may affect the Fire country and it citizens. Last information has it that they broke out of the main gate. So here's your mission; do not take them down until you fully know what their attentions truly are. When you manage to catch up to them, I want you to just observe them until their scheme is revealed – but if before then you see things going out of control – seize them and apprehend them in the right time. With the strength of you all I believe it won't be that hard of a task. Any questions before you leave?"

They all answered at once, "No, Godaime-sama."

"Good," She said, pleased with the response. She then handed a few files to Yamato, "Those files contain their personal details. Their pictures, names, birthdays, blood types, lineage, personalities, criminal and mission records, abilities and other specific information are all in there."

"Understood," answered Yamato politely.

"Very well then, mission begi-" the squad were about to scatter through the window when they noticed their Hokage cut through her sentence, "Ah, wait – I forgot something important...!"

"What is it, Hokage-sama?" said Yamato.

"Tenten," Tsunade looked at Tenten who seemed to be surprised at the sudden call of her name.

"Y-yes, Tsundade-sama," she answered with respect – wondering why on earth is she being called out for – she had a mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness.

"Take this," the Hokage handed her a small envelope. Tenten took it and looked at in curiosity. "There contain a very important task especially for you. I forbid you from opening it until the accomplishment of the current mission. So _do not_ open it _no matter what_until then... I would like you to follow the instruction it is about to tell you."

Tsunade tried to put on a straight face as she said her last sentence. The others wondered in amazement what possible task Tsunade could possibly give especially to Tenten. But they had no time to think as Tsunade dispatch them when she commanded, "Go!"

While Izumo who was present in the room looked awkwardly uneasy as he guessed what's probably inside the envelope Tsunade gave to the young lady.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is the first Naruto fiction I ever wrote – so please go easy on me. The characters will be kind of OOC (out of characters) - not all though, and hopefully not much. So like in Neji, I'll have his personality a bit altered, mixing some of his character from Rock Lee SD series in a sense when he becomes all overprotective and crazy when it comes to Hinata (I like to watch how he becomes extreme when it comes to his cousin – so cute!).

And as you have noticed, I created a new character called Shin - who is apparently Tenten's twin brother. As much as I disliked adding a new original character to a fan-fic, I really needed a character with a certain personality which I failed to find in the Naruto world. Shin's concept and design is pretty much similar to male Tenten a deviantArt member, BayneezOne drew in the site. His character personality bloomed to me as I saw her adorable art under the title 'Nejiten and Male Tenten'. You know, a jerkish kind of character, ha-ha.

And as for my writing style, some of you might like it since it's simple and easy to understand – I hope – (for non-native speakers especially), some will probably find it immature and prefer detailed style writing with much depth (sorry about that), and some of you probably like it either way and don't really care much. I just want to say to please bare with me - as I'll gradually - I hope - to improve my writing along the way ^^'

I'm a novice, and I pretty much appreciate reviews (in fact, please do!). Whether stating what you like and what you dislike (for further improvement), and if you notice any grammatical errors or any inappropriate sentences – please, I would you to tell me in a proper fashion.


	2. The Pursuit (Part A)

**Chapter 2  
****– The Pursuit (Part A) –**

The six shinobis sprinted from tree branches to the other as they headed out to the north where Shizune's team and the prison breakers seem to be headed. Each had a communicating device in case the situation forced them to split, while Yamato tried to use his devise to reach out to Shizune's team. But it seems to be out of connecting range.

Neji and Hinata were trying to find the trails of their targets with their byakugan. They were looking in every direction, searching every possible route they might have taken, and taking their byakugan to its utmost capacity.

The composed Shino had his bugs scattered around to search and locate them.

Tenten was busy with herself – happily thinking of possible possibilities of what might be in the envelope Tsunade gave her.

While Shin yawned in boredom as he watched everyone quietly pacing their way through. He was disappointed in the lack of girls on the team. Tenten was his twin sister, and Hinata was, well, out of his league. She belonged to one of the most formidable and honourable clan of the Hidden Leaf Village – the Hyuga clan – addition to that, the heirs of Hyuga's main house. And not to mention her overprotecting cousin is there with her. Just staring at her for awhile or getting closer to her may cause Neji to glare at him for hours.

Three hours passed since they departed from the village, and Shin desperately wanted to break the silence so badly as no one talked – if ever; only mission related matters –, but he also couldn't think anything to say to any of his fellow teammates.

After awhile, Hinata let out a cough. Shin looked hopefully at her, thinking she was thinking the same as him and was about to lighten the atmosphere by saying something. But unfortunately for him – she didn't. Instead she just continued to do what she was doing.

Few minutes passed before she started coughing again, this time uncomfortably – desperate trying to suppress it. The caring cousin turned to her looking concerned, "Are you alright, Hinata-sama?"

"I-I'm alright, Nii-san," she told him. "Just an itch," she added quickly.

Neji looked doubtful. "I see," he managed to say, but still not convinced as he realized her swift breathing and strange movement of her chakra flow. _"There's something wrong with her."_ He told himself. But he knows that even if he tried to pursue her on the matter she would just constantly deny it and it would only end up resulting in disrupting the squad's concentration.

He, Neji was her guardian. As a branch family member of the clan, Neji was destined to this duty when he was only four. When his father's death took place, he began to hold grudge against the main family. And Hinata being the heir was also no exception. For the past years before the chuunin exam, his behaviour to her was cruel – always when he looked at her, his eyes would be filled with malice and sheer detestation.  
But a certain event occurred when he truly opened his eyes. A particular unbelievable person changed his narrow view of the world. As Neji grew kinder, he regretted the detestable attitude and feelings he had of the people around him. That includes his timid cousin, Hinata. How could he have been so cruel to her? She didn't do anything to deserve such harsh treatments.

On top of the death of her beloved mother and the strict and unkind actions she got from her father, Neji insensitively added to her sorrow. He was only thinking of his own sufferings and misery. Hinata suffered mostly just as much as he did – despite being the successor to the main family. Neji came to realize how terrible he had been. He wanted to reflect on his deeds.

Neji eventually developed a sheer determination to protect her, even if it means risking his life for it. It simply started with a strong sense of duty, which unexpectedly and strangely for him led up to something... more than just that.

They went on for another forty minutes. The pursuit seems to be an endless run as they neither can sense them nor see them. Yamato had one of his tracking pills with Shizune. So he was aware where they were clockwise, but can't determine the distance between them. Certainly, it must be far. If they were near he'd had been able to sense the strong reaction coming from the tracking pill. Something buzzed over Yamato's ear, it was the communicating device. The frequency was low and difficult to hear but he could hear Shizune talking. "Co-ming –bzz- through... This... –bzzz- ... is ... Shizu-"

It got disconnected.

All of a sudden, Shin grew impatient; he can't hold it any longer. "Everyone, stop!" He commanded urgently.

Everyone halted. They all turned to him, with serious faces.

"What is it?" enquired Yamato.

"Is it the enemy?" asked Tenten – already in her fighting stance.

Shino was beginning to give commands to his bugs as he waited for Shin's answer.

They all looked at him with anxious and grave faces waiting for him to move his lips. For a moment Shin seemed to be troubled and guilty as he then grinned and placed his hand behind his head in an apologetic manner, "I need to take a leek."

Each person stood there speechless, dumbfounded by his implausible statement.

Shin began laughing uneasily before Tenten's nerve twitched as she clenched her fists hard and punched him in the face sending him flying backwards, breaking through many layers of tree branches, "Stop scaring us like that, you asshole!" She yelled at him exasperatedly – pissed off and ashamed of her brother's behaviour at the same time.

Yamato sighed for a moment. "It can't be helped... let's take this chance to take a quick break," he told them.

Everyone landed from the branches and started to find comfortable spots to sit or lean against. Shin excused himself as he went behind the bushes – disappearing from everyone's sight to do his business.

Gulping the last bit of water from her gourd, Tenten looked around trying to find water source. She noticed a stream below the hill. "I'm just going to the stream over there to fill my gourd," She notified them before she marched off.

They all watched her as she strode off before beginning to do their own matters.

"This is strange," said Shino, turning everyone's attention towards him, "We've been running for awhile now, but we still haven't catch up to them."

Yes, that's true. It's been nearly four hours since they began their pursuit. But neither Shizune's team nor the group of criminals were sighted.

"Could we have been going in the wrong direction?" Hinata assumed.

"That is most unlikely," said Yamato, "I have one of my chakra sensory pills with Shizune. I'm able to locate them clockwise but I can't figure out how long the distance there between us. Though, I did manage to connect to Shizune's communicating device a moment ago," Yamato informed them, "But it got cut off before either of us managed to say anything to each other."

"They must have sped up their chase," stated Shino.

"We need to quicken our speed, too," suggested Neji. He remembered something that might help. He turned to Hinata, "Hinata-sama, did you manage to bring some of our clan's force tablet? We can-"

Neji didn't finish his sentence when Hinata broke down to her knees and started coughing intensely. It became more painful as she for some reason tried to restrain it.

"Hinata-sama, what's wrong!?" Neji exclaimed, worried by this sudden act of his cousin. He hurriedly rushed by her side and placed his one hand on her back and other on her shoulder trying to give her some aid.

Shino and Yamato seemed worried as they stared anxiously.

Hinata hacked and coughed as the searing pain lingered in her chest. _Please... no... not... at time like this... not in front of... everyone..._

After a few seconds, she gradually stopped. She managed to regain her breath and strength after she panted unsteadily. She placed her hand on top of Neji's hand which was on her left shoulder and looked at him in the face. "I-I apologize," she said softly, "for causing such a scene... But don't worry about me, Neji... really, I'm... fine," she told him with a wanly smile, trying to sound somehow strong.

Neji still didn't believe her. He looked at her compassionately before helping her to stand.

His composure began to fade. Neji wasn't going to let her off this time. He placed his hands on her shoulders and took out a deep breath, "What are you saying?!" He yelled at her, shocking her out of her wits, "Your breathing is strange, even your chakra flows aren't steady, you are building up sweat!" He drew closer to her and placed his hand on her forehead, "See, even your forehead is burning!"

Hinata, including Yamato and Shino were stunned by this sudden outburst.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a cold?!"

Hinata blinked. "Because I-"

"I understand that you don't want us worry unnecessarily, but if you're feeling unwell, you should say it...! That is also teamwork!"

"_Like you should talk,"_ thought Yamato with drowsy expression on his face, _"You would... have done the same."_

He took out some capsule from his kitbag and placed it in her hands, "Here, take this."

"But I..."

"Take it!"

"Nii-san, really I-"

"Swallow it... now!"

Hinata helplessly gave in – she knew she can't stand up against Neji when he's like this. So she swallowed the capsule quietly followed by drinking some water to push it through.

Neji finally calmed down after witnessing her ingest it.

"That capsule is made by Shin's master," He informed her, "It wards off any disease. Though it takes awhile to take effect, it works efficiently and the success rate is eighty-seven percent."

"Thank you..." Hinata said meekly – trying to sound grateful. She appreciated her cousin's great concern for her. But... really, sometimes she really wished he doesn't get worked up over little things and matters that seemed unbelievably insignificant.

"Hinata, are you sure you can go on?" Yamato asked her, "There's a town nearby where we could find some inn to drop you while we resume our mission. It'll be too late later if something happens."

"No, captain Yamato," Hinata said sternly, "This is only... a common cold. I can't possibly stop because of it. A shinobi must be able to endure something like this."

"Very well," he sighed.

They all turned to the bush when they saw Shin popping out.

"Hey, I didn't miss any fun, did I?" he asked gleefully.

"That took you long enough," complained Neji.

"Sorry, I needed sometime to-" He was about to answer when he noticed his sister is nowhere to be seen, "Where's Tenten?"

Neji rolled his eyes. "She just went to fill her gourd..."

Not long after Tenten showed up. As soon as they made a brief check on their supplies and weapon tools, they set off at the utmost speed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So... there, I finished chapter two. I hope that was a pleasant read. I already have the third and fourth chapters in stock. It just needs a few editing before I can post them. Please review! It means a lot – whether stating what you like and dislike, pointing out my grammatical errors, suggesting ideas, correcting my inappropriate use of language in characters' speech, etc.

Thank you for reading!


	3. The Pursuit (Part B) & The Plan

**Chapter 3  
– The Pursuit (Part B) & The Plan –**

Shizune halted when Hana signalled her to – they were concealing their presence competently – including trying to restrain their bodies' needs to pant and gasp for air. The group of prison breakers seems to have eventually slowed down their pace and stopped.

For the whole day Shizune and Hana were trying to keep up with them in an unbelievable speed. The gang's quickness and legs' strength were astounding. It wasn't all that easy for the kunoichis like Hana and Shizune whom weren't really professional in that matter to keep up.

"Did they notice us?" Shizune asked under her breath.

"No," Hana responded. She and three of her ninken, The Three Haimaru Brothers studied their scent movement and chakra flows. "I don't think so."

The squad continued to observe their targets from afar as they entered a nearby town.

"We follow them," Shizune instructed her junior.

"But it's weird," Hana said as they silently moved on, "Even though we made ourselves invisible and concealed our presence, that Hyuga person should be able to see us with her byakugan... yet..."

"Her byakyugan was sealed," Shizune told her, "She committed a crime within the Hyuga and they took her eyes' ability away before she was taken to prison."

Hana had heard of the incident that took place within the Hyuga clan, but she didn't get the details – nor any of those who weren't involved. It was something unusual to happen in an honourable clan like the Hyugas, so people of the village were talking about it every here and there. Apparently two members from the main house of the clan were killed during the incident.

Shizune who was at the moment focusing on their target suddenly heard a buzzing sound from her earphone. "Code 782...! Coming through, this is Shizune. Repeating, this is Shizune."

"Shiz- bzzz... Yama-to... bzzz.. Yamato here," Yamato's voice finally could be heard. The frequency gradually started to sound clear from Shizune's end.

"A stray kunai killed a perverted boar. What to do?"

"Everlasting bloodshed. Kill it before it makes a terror out of you."

Both confirmed that both party are genuine. Shizune and Yamato averted their eyes in embarrassment. Seriously, the Hokage should think of a more decent secret word instead of picking some random ones and tossing it at their faces. God knows whether she's doing it out of laziness or just for the sake of satisfying her own amusement.

Yamato let out a slight cough, "Report the situation," he enquired.

"Five of them entered a tourist town near the Fire country entry border. We're currently trailing them," Shizune informed him, "They just entered a clothing store. The possibilities of them spending the night here seem to be high."

"They haven't noticed you?"

"No suspicious behaviours that seems so far," said Shizune, though she wasn't entirely sure.

"Good," Yamato sighed in relief, "Try to keep it that way until we come."

"Understood," said Shizune, "How much time do you think it'll take to get you all here?"

"About two hours at most."

Yamato and Shizune were busy exchanging information and plans when Hana who was eying the store for awhile patted Shizune's shoulder in alert. "Shizune-san, they have begun moving."

"Right," she nodded, "Anyway, Yamato. I'll stop right here. I'll contact you again later." With that she hung up.

The group of five went out from the store. They all looked like common citizens now instead of some prison breakers or filthy tramps. Their previous garments were certainly outstanding in the midst of crowds.

"Ohh, this feels a lot more comfortable than that piece of shit!" exclaimed Benkei.

"Hell yeah," Yuno said, "Can't believe we've endured a hell lot amount of decades in that hell of a stinking cellar!"

"Silence you two," said Zuko, who seems to be the current leader of their group, "Attracting attention is the last thing we want."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." both mumbled in annoyance.

They wandered around the town for about one hour buying things such as food, change of clothes, and other necessary equipments. They had actually stolen quite a lot of cash from the guards they knocked down back in the village.

Zuko sighted a nearby inn, and led his gang there. "We'll be taking shelter here tonight," he told them, "Since we've used almost all of our energy and chakra on that run, we'll need at least a one night rest to regain all of our strength."

They all entered the inn. The group met the recipient and registered for their rooms before slowly walking their way upstairs.

As there was no one but them, Loke under his breath whispered to his fellows while keeping his cautious eyes alert, "It seems that those two damned foxes are still in our pursuit."

All looked at him. Yuno and Benkei were surprised as they didn't sense anything.

"But it doesn't appear they are intending to attack us anytime soon," said Azusa.

"Those two are just an emergency ninjas the Hokage sent for us," said Zuko, "But to have kept with our speed, they're a real skilled ninjas... anyhow, they most likely are exhausted from pursuing us in that pace. They're fully aware of our strength and capabilities and I dare say they wouldn't dare attack us recklessly or make the wrong move. Especially not in this cramped setting where innocent people might get involved... Though, I can most likely assume some reinforcement coming... but nonetheless, they won't be able to stop in-"

"Who... who cares," blurted Yuno, growing impatient as she felt her blood boiling in excitement, "I'm afraid... I can't hold it anymore... We... we haven't killed someone in ages... I crave for blood, its color and scent and its... warmth... Those lovely sensations of torture and tearing those warm fleshes and meat... Aahh!" Her pupils floated upwards as she recalled an unsightly scene of the past, the pleasure she gained by murdering and torturing people. She salivated and raised her hands in leisure before she begun to laugh in an extreme manner. "Let's say... we kill them!" she imagined what's best way to torture them to satisfy her overwhelming desire. Her mind wasn't in control of her body anymore... her blood and greed was. Everyone on her sight seemed insignificant beings waiting to be killed by her torturous hands.

Benkei who was holding his bloodlust also begun to snigger, he placed his hand on his face, covering his corrupted expression. He looked at his currently so called comrades and glared at them like that of a hungry beast eying his prey for the kill.

Zuko, Loke and Azusa knowing their characters and crazy traits drew some distance between those two.

"Ahh~ anyone will do..." sneered Benkei, "My blood is boiling... it can't wait any longer than it already has..."

Benkei and Yuno ogled at them hungrily and maliciously.

There was a brief pause. No one moved for a second. Then those two pushed their bodies towards them with eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Azusa!" Zuko commanded.

Knowing what to do, Azusa advanced towards them in an utmost speed. Their eyes met, but before Yuno and Benkei could react she landed various strokes to their vital points with her gentle fist – exclusively and distinctively, it was mixed with her thunder element. They let out a groan as their senses gradually faded; two bodies fell to the ground, unconscious.

All stared at the two unmoving bodies in bewilderment.

"These two might be a hurdle to our operation," said Loke irritated.

"But their skills are the real deals," demanded Zuko, "We need them... anyway, we need to prepare ourselves for various things. But before that we should rest as much as we can."

Zuko went where the bodies lay and lifted Benkei. "Loke, carry the woman while I carry him. We're going to our rooms"

* * *

"What do we do now?" asked Hana.

The two kunoichis, Shizune and Hana along with her ninkens were few buildings away beside the inn where the gang were.

Biting her lip in frustration, Shizune thought hard. "_What do we do... going to the same inn might give us clearer watch on what they are doing, but... it's too risky. Inuzuka Hana and I are no match for the five of them... Not to mention there's a possibility that they have noticed us trailing them and are in wait to ambush us... could it be some sort of trap...? We also can't guarantee that they're going to spend the whole night there... damn it! At a crucial time like this I really wish Kakashi-san or Shikamaru-kun was here..._"

After some double thoughts, Shizune decided they'll do it in a cautious way. "Let's fall back six buildings away for now. See that tower? We observe them from there. It's getting dark now and we've used nearly all of our food pills on that run... if they attack us now with the current chakra lever we have... we'll be killed - instantly."

"Right," nodded Hana. She just realized how drained tired she was – her body started aching every here and there. Even her powerful looking dogs could barely stand. The speed the gang dashed with was unbelievably rapid. To keep up with them, they consumed a lot from the food pills. Hana and Shizune also needed to conceal their presence from the group - which required a lot of concentration and chakra use.

They did a momentary retreat as planned, and let their bodies fell in exhaustion as they landed at the peak of the tower. It was designed to be a place for tourists where people could view all parts of the town and it outskirt. Luckily for them, no one was there and it was peacefully really quite.

In this kind of circumstances they needed a system where one should rest while the other stays alert and watch. As the senior and an expert medical ninja of the two, Shizune volunteered to do the least favourable task. With her special medical jutsu, she can make her own body stable and last for another three hours before it reaches its utmost limit fatigue.

* * *

At Yamato's end, they have finally met their destination.

"Gosh, I'm so dead tired!" exclaimed Shin as they landed between the trees, "Say, Yamato-taichou, why shouldn't we go inside the town? Our stomachs have been growling for the past few hours, we need some serious meals instead of those things! And, you know... sleeping on the grass will make our bodies really uncomfortable that we won't get enough rest. Say, won't it hurt to enter the town only for a ti~ny bit? Plea~se? I-"

"You complain too much, and ask too much..." said Shino, cutting through Shin's whining, "To be able to endure is Shinobi's greatest assess. Why you ask? Because..."

Shino has already begun his nit-picking long speech.

Yamato sighed before he repeated what he said earlier – but more thoroughly this time. "The plan is that we should stay here and keep watch the town's outer surface while Shizune's team keep a look on the inside. That way, if the gang managed to slip outside unnoticed from the other squad we can easily detect them and possibly have them ambushed at the same time. Regardless, some of them are sensory types. Entering the town might as well trigger our presence to them and will cause things to turn unfavourable on our side."

"Fine, I understand," muttered Shin in surrender.

"But as for what you said about sleeping and eating," Yamato grinned as he then hit the earth with his two palms and released his wood style jutsu.

All watched in amazement as woods came out from the earth and formed a building that seemed to be some luxurious inn.

Shin gasped in admiration.

"W-wow..."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I apologize for the delay and the lack of the main characters' screen time. But I promise they'll be play majorly in the next chapter! There'll be a bath-time gag, he-he – the thing I really enjoyed writing and fantasizing.

P.S. This might need further improvement and editing. As I'm so sleepy right now, I might have missed some bits.


	4. Bath-time, and no Peeping!

**Chapter 4  
- Bath-time, And No Peeping! -**

Yamato released his Wood Style jutsu and created an inn which staggered the young adults. The inn which was surprisingly big consisted of two bedrooms, a restroom, and a living-room – plus two hot baths and a medium sized Japanese graden.

The young ninjas stood there still dumbstruck by Yamato's convenient jutsu.

"This technique never ceases to amaze me..." said Neji amazed.

"This is definitely better than camping outside!" said Tenten and Shin excitedly.

* * *

They all headed to living room and let themselves fall in exhaustion. They placed all their belongings at the corner of the room. They were also amazed that the insides were very well furnished. Yamato smiled, pleased to see their reaction – he had some of them confined in his special scroll. He still has many surprises up his sleeve to show his juniors, but decided to show it in a right time.

"The last report has it that the gangs are currently resting," Yamato told them, placing his belongings along with the others, "We should also regain our strength and rest as much as we can. When information has it that they take off, we resume our pursuit. For now... Let's take a bath first, we can eat after that."

All went to settle in their temporarily rooms. Two rooms divided in a category of men and women.

Tenten looked at Hinata as she was taking some change of clothes from her bag. She looked pale and dispirited. During the mission, Hinata did her job proficiently without burdening any of her comrades; however, she looked kind of drained. She rarely ever talked. It's like she wasn't even there.

"_Could the incident five months ago still haunt her to this day?"_ thought Tenten, very concerned on her fellow kunoichi. "_It must be hard on her... not much of a time has passed since then... but... I can't do anything... I can't possibly share her pain and truly knows how she feels, but I do understand that it's unbearable."_

After some thoughts, Tenten decided that she'll try her best to cheer Hinata up. "_This is the least I could do for her._"

Little by little, Tenten tiptoed behind Hinata's back and then slowly beginning to say her name out loud, "Hi~nata!"

Hinata was stunned as she turned her face around to see Tenten's beaming smile.

"T-Tenten-san!" she gasped.

"Man~ can you stop with that annoying honorific?" whined Tenten, looking hurt, "we're friends, aren't we?"

Dumbfounded for a moment, Hinata smiled before answering "Yes... sure, I... understand," she was little confused with Tenten's sudden change of attitude towards her.

"Why are you spacing up for? Have you forgotten I'm here?" Tenten told her, "Looking back, I think it's been a really long time since we are put together in a mission."

"Yes, it would... seem so."

"Kuuuh! It's sure is reassuring to have Captain Yamato with us!" Tenten said cheerfully, "We get to have a hot bath~ let's take a heck of a good time in the bath, Hinata!"

Hinata smiled before nodding in agreement, "sure."

They went outside the room as they bumped into the boys who were also heading towards the onsen.

"Make sure you have a good time, everyone." Yamato told them with a smile, "We have many work awaiting us after this." He had many of to do after the bath so he was very much pleased to spend the time before it in pleasant warm water.

Neji turned and looked at Hinata. She smiled at him before turning away. He has noticed her continual abnormal behaviour, and gazed at her with great concern.

Shin looked at the girls for a moment, and then he started smirking – he's up to something naughty.

Tenten noticed this and looked disturbed.

"Remember this, Shin!" Tenten warned her brother, "try to peek and I'll bulge those eyes out of your face!"

"Don't worry; I won't do such detestable act." Shin said with a straight face.

Tenten looked distrustfully at her brother, taking Hinata with her; she walked away with her face still turned towards him – signalling death threats before she disappeared behind the bathroom door.

"I can't believe she can't even trust her own brother!" cried out Shin – loud enough for Tenten to hear – mockingly and at the same time pretending to sound hurt, "Oh, I am, for I am tru~ly, grea~tly, and so very much offended~"

"That damn bastard!" cursed Tenten under her breath – really pissed off, "I'll let him know the true terror when we get home!"

The others watched in amazement at this sibling quarrel. Their relationship is really one of a kind. Neji looked uncomfortably at Shin. How could he treat his sister like that? He would never anger Hinata-sama in such manner.

The young men then strode off to the male bathroom.

* * *

After washing himself up, Shin joined Shino and Neji in the wooden bath. It was large enough to fit ten people.

"Ahh, this feels so nice!" cried out Shin in enjoyment. "Captain Yamato, we're very much obliged to have you with us~ with other sensei, we'd probably be out there sleeping in the cold with filthy bodies."

"Oh, is that so? I'm glad to hear that," Yamato grinned – trying to suppress his overwhelming joy. _"Take that Kakashi! You'll never able to make your subordinates praise you like this!"_ That is what he was secretly thinking at the moment as he scrubbed and washed his body parts.

The boys were enjoying the pleasant water warmth when they heard the girls started talking.

"Ne, Hinata – aren't they getting bigger the last time I saw them?"

Hinata hurriedly covered them from Tenten's view, "Please stop staring at me like that, Tenten-san," she pleaded in embarrassment.

"You are so lucky!" Tenten told her, "I'm already 19, a year older than you, and my boobs are nowhere that of a Lady Tsunade's – not even near compared to yours... But I'm proud to say that mine is bigger than Sakura's! Oh, and stop calling me with the honorific already!"

"I'm sorry," apologized Hinata meekly.

"So, tell me," Tenten drew closer to her teasingly, "what's the secret to make them grow like that?"

Her cheeks turned red, "I-it's not like I want them to grow-" Hinata began saying when she suddenly started coughing.

"Hey, are you alright?" Tenten asked out of concern, "now that I recall, you've been coughing a lot during the mission..."

"I'm alright," Hinata told her, "it's nothing to worry about."

"You sure it aint a cold? It may be a start of some nasty fever."

~oOo~

Meanwhile in the men's bathroom, Shin tried to get out of the tub when Neji stopped him. "Not in my presence."

Shin turned at him annoyed with the sudden interruption. "Stop being such a saint, this is a perfect chance you only get once in a lifetime! This is what you call... a man's romance!" He said his last statement beaming putting a thumb up.

"That is something a lowlife like you would do."

"Aw, come on. I bet you'd have used that byakugan of yours to peek before~?"

Neji panicked with the sudden and unexpected accusation. "N-nonsense! I would never do such a thing!"

Shin sneered at him before drawing closer to Neji, he began whispering mockingly near his ear, "Are you sure... you haven't even used your byakugan to see your beloved Hinata-sama's naked body?"

Neji went red after his mind automatically tried to imagine an exposed Hinata – but hurriedly erased it. "W-what are you saying? Of course not! I would never do such heinous acts to my own family!"

"Aww really?" teased Shin – sounding dubious, enjoying his time mocking and messing around with the aloof Neji. He really loved the reaction he was getting.

"Ne, Neji-kun~" went on Shin under his breath, "You... love Hinata, don't ya?"

This time, Neji was really taken aback.

"Oh, and by this 'love' I don't mean the family or the friend kind," added Shin quickly, "I meant the ro-ma-n-tic kind~"

Neji managed to regain his composure before responding, "What makes you think that?"

"Why, isn't it pretty obvious? For one, you become overprotective when it comes to Hinata."

"O-overprotective you say?" Neji stuttered – is this what he is branded as by everyone? – He paused quietly before continuing, "...Isn't it normal? She's a close relative of mine."

"Hah!" blurted Shin scornfully, "no, no, no... Even average parents aren't _that_ protective to their children. I and Tenten for starters are even far from that. And secondly, I've realized this for some time now – you... often gaze at her with an intimate look."

"Wh-what-?"

"I've lost count how many times you had looked at her today."

Neji was dumbfounded for a moment. He tried to brush it off, "You are imagining things..."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure what I saw are far from imagination," Shin pretending to think hard, "maybe I should ask the others to make sure."

This certainly is getting out of control. Neji definitely doesn't want anyone to join this absurd conversation. It'll be really humiliating for him. And if this gets to Hinata – he won't ever be able to bear to look her in the eyes.

"Stop," Neji managed to grab Shin's shoulder before he turned to others. Shin smirked. He expected Neji to prevent him from bringing the others into this.

"Sure, fine I admit it." Neji finally managed to say – burning with shame.

"That you love her?"

"Wrong!" Neji deliberately denied, "That I l-looked at her several times during the mission."

"Ohhh!"

"But only because my concern for her well-being..."

"Well-being?"

"Hinata-sama looked kind of pale. Even after I gave her that special medicine, it doesn't seem her condition changed in any way – only a little... I was worried she-"

"Pfft...!" snorted Shin through his nose before bursting out laughing in a disturbing manner, "Stop being over wholly protective, man! I'm sure it's just some slight cold!"

Neji really regretted saying unnecessary things. He was so embarrassed and humilated. He felt like an idiot. He gritted his teeth in irritation as he watched Shin laughing.

Shin pretended to wipe of a laughing tear when he noticed Neji's irritated face. He felt a murderous intent coming from him as he felt fear running through his veins. _"I-I think I've taken this a little too far."_ He thought as he drew some distant between them.

"I would like you to forget this conversation _ever took place_," Neji snarled - threatening him maliciously.

"Yes, I... understand." He nodded in terror before he drifted off.

Yamato by the time had already finished scrubbing and he then began to settle himself down in the water.

Shin wasn't giving in his perverted schemes. He had to do something to overpower Neji somehow. That's right; he'd invite Shino and Captain Yamato. Three against one would make Neji fall for sure.

Shin went to Shino who was enjoying the heat.

"Hey, hey, Shino!" Shin called out to him under his breath – making sure Neji couldn't hear him –, "wouldn't you have liked to take a peek?" Shin told Shino persuasively, trying to get him on his side, "your teammate is a fine woman – she has a gorgeous body. Even my sister has some hot stuff in her. Hn? Come on, pal, what do you say?"

Shino paused for quite awhile before answering in his usual cool tone.

"As a man, I certainly do have a desire to do such acts... but – I won't. Why you ask? That's because, not only will we dishonour their trust in us, but we'll also soil-"

"Argh! OK, sure...! I get it, you can stop right there," Shin stopped him before he could hear one of Shino's endless blabber.

He went to Yamato only to be turned down once more – saying he won't dishonour his dignity as a leader and guardian.

Shin was disappointed in his fellow subordinates. "Naruto and Kiba would have followed me!" He mumbled under his breath. But he daren't say it out loud for some specific reason.

They all enjoyed the rest of the occasion in the pleasant hot water. Surely, these ninjas are taking things very easy!

* * *

**Author's Note:** And there I finished chapter four! I hope you enjoyed it somehow... Seriously, this one was the one I've enjoyed writing the most so far! I really wish for scenes like this in the anime and manga, ha-ha.

P.S. Next chapter coming soon (hopefully)! Please review~ It means a lot.


End file.
